Why wasn’t Amaravati opposed then? - VS Rao

Why wasn’t amaravati opposed then?

The proposal of the government to have three capital cities -- one for Legislature, one for Executive and another for the Judiciary - based on the recommendations of the GN Rao Committee has not only led to confusion but also created a life and death problem for over 25,000 farmers and their families, who gave up their lands to the tune of 33,000 acres for the capital city. The Sivaramakrishnan Committee had recommended against locating the captial in VGTM region, particularly along the river bank, where Amaravati is located, as there is intense agriculture activity and the land is multi-crop growing fertile land. But the then chief minister Chandrababu Naidu declared the region as the capital city.

In the five years since State bifurcation, 33,000 acres was taken and the farmers had decided to sacrifice their lands for a greater cause. They had hoped that the value of the developed plots given to them in lieu of the agriculture land they gave up, would increase manifold in 10-15 years. If the present government goes ahead with its proposal to decentralise administration and relocate Secretariat and the high court, the development in Amaravati would be nominal and the expected increase in value of the returnable plots to the farmers will never materialise. Their sacrifices would come to naught and many would be pushed into dire straits. I fail to understand why the Jagan government, which has done some good to the farmers like paying crop insurance premium among others, has not considered the predicament of Amaravati farmers.

Here one should ask, why the ruling party leaders failed to raise objections when the Andhra Pradesh Assembly on September 3, 2014, had resolved to locate the new capital between Vijayawada and Guntur along the river Krishna. Why no objections were raised when Prime Minister laid the foundation stone at Uddandarayunipallem on October 22, 2015. Though it was mentioned in the Act that the High Court in Hyderabad will be common for both Andhra and Telangana, owing to pressure from Telangana advocates and subsequent petitions, the Supreme Court ordered for a separate High Court for Andhra.

The then government in the State had asked the Central government and the Supreme Court to set up the high court in Amaravati. Even at that time, those who are now advocating shifting of high court to Kurnool, did not raise any objection nor did they come up with an alternative proposal. Even when the high court complex was under construction, no one objected to it. It should be noted that the President has issued a notification based on the recommendation of the Supreme Court under Sec 30 (1) of the AP Reorganisation Act. If the high court has to be relocated, it will not be that easy as the consent of the Supreme Court and the President is required. Even the proposal to make Visakhapatnam the executive capital and hold summer sessions of the Assembly there is irrational.

For all purposes, Visakhapatnam is already the ‘financial capital’. Irrespective of which party is in power, development of Vizag will go unhindered. The argument of some that only with ‘secretariat’ in Visakhapatnam, the development of North Andhra is possible has no logic. North Andhra is blessed with 1000 mm rainfall on an average, which is the highest in state. It has rivers like Nagavali, Vamsadhara, Mahendra Tanaya, Bahuda. Had the demand for irrigation projects and systematic irrigation facility since the times of Sardar Gouthu Lachanna was met, the situation of migrations from the region would not have happened.

YSR had taken the initiative to address the issue by launching the Uttarandhra Sujala Sravanthi. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy should not only complete the pending projects in the region, but also take the initiative to negotiate with Odisha Chief Minister to address inter-state river disputes, which will augur well for the Uttarandhra. The argument that development of Amaravati would cost over Rs 1 lakh crore is not true, as there is no need to follow the plans of Chandrababu Naidu. The capital can continue with existing infrastructure and completing pending projects. There is no need for skyscrapers, iconic buildings, ring roads, metro rails, and iconic bridges. We should not forget that thousands of crores of taxpayers’ money has been spent on Amaravati and the Central government, apart from Rs 1,500 crore, had released Rs 368 crore for its development as a smart city.

VADDE SOBHANADREESWARA RAO
Former agriculture minister

01/01/2020